


In a New York State of Mind

by cozycoincidences



Category: 13 Reasons Why (TV)
Genre: Alex is Justin's Assistant, Alex is in college, But this is interesting I promise, Doesn't relate to the show that much, F/M, Haven't Met Until Now, I'll update this as the story continues, I'm bad at tags lol, Justin's working at the New York Times building, M/M, New York Times Au, Slow Burn, Strangers to Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-09 05:11:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11097606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cozycoincidences/pseuds/cozycoincidences
Summary: Justin Foley works at the New York Times and has an amazing life. He's rich, has a beautiful girlfriend, and has a fantastic job. But when his boss Zach asks Justin if he'd like an assistant, who turns out to be Alex Standall, he agrees and the two boys embark on a journey together as they become friends and then gradually become something much, much more.





	1. An Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, so this is my second work on this site and I"m super excited about writing this alternate AU. Something about a successful, rich Justin is really attractive to me and then Alex coming to work with him is going to be really fun to write. Hope you guys enjoy and feel free to leave comments and kudos :) Love you guys
> 
> P.S. This isn't exactly what it's like to work at the New York Times building because obviously I don't work there, lol, but this is an AU anyways so just warning you guys!

Justin Foley was on top of the world.

He and Jessica Davis, the most amazing girl in the world, had been dating for two months now. He couldn't believe how lucky he was.

He'd also recently gotten a promotion in his line of work, and was now the head of his writing branch. This honor meant finally getting his own private office, and he couldn't be more excited to make that room his home away from home.

He also finally earned enough money from working at the New York Times to buy himself a gorgeous navy blue corvette.

He pulled up to work that morning in said car, dressed to the 9's in his dark aviators and freshly pressed Armani suit. 

"Morning, Mr. Foley," Mr. Franz, the greeter/security guard, welcomed Justin as he locked his car with a beep.

"Good morning, Franz, my guy! Meet any shifty people this am?" Justin asked conversationally, slinging his bag to his right side to avoid bumping Mr. Franz.

The older man smiled politely. "Not yet, but there's no one coming in through these doors under my supervision!" He laughed, causing Justin to laugh good-naturedly.

"Right-o, well have a good one, Franz!" 

"You too, Mr. Foley!"

Justin smiled a little to himself before entering the doors. He was struck for a moment by the sheer beauty of the business he worked for. The way the early 7 am sun hit the side of the building to illuminate the translucent windows with tiny little rainbows was breathtaking. The letters  **The New York Times** in their scribbly font was also a fantastic, welcoming sight.

He pushed through the glass doors and greeted Monica at the huge front desk. "Morning, beautiful!" He stated smoothly, enjoying the way the pretty blonde's cheeks pinked at the name. "Hi, Justin! You look dashing as always," she replied, showing off the little gap between her front teeth as she smiled. He grinned and leaned on her desk, loosely resting his hands on the hardwood desktop.

"Well thank you, Moni. You look like a sexy librarian with those fake reading glasses and cardigan," he joked, laughing as Monica squawked and batted Justin's hands lightly with the papers she was going through. 

"I'll have you know these glasses are  _real,"_ making them both laugh, "And you know my 'sexy librarian act' is all for You Know Who." They both smiled, both knowing Justin knew exactly who she was referring to.

"Wellp, got places to go, people to see, so I'll talk to you later, Moni," Justin declared, swiftly retracting his hands from the desk, sending a couple forms flying to the floor.

"Thanks for that, Just! See you!" She called after him.

Justin shook his head and smiled to himself. He loved his life.

***

Justin was ten minutes away from his lunch break before Zach Dempsey strolled into Justin's office.

"Hey, Foley. So I wanted to talk to you about something," the raven haired boy announced, making himself at home in one of Justin's plush chairs across from his mahogany desk. Justin arched an eyebrow. "Shoot," he replied, crossing his arms in front of him.

Zach crossed his legs and cleared his throat.

"Alright, so I know you just got promoted to head of your Journalistic branch, which is huge, so congrats man!" He said, making Justin smile with pride. "Thanks, Zach. Please continue though." 

Zach nodded and resumed. "How would you feel about acquiring an assistant?" He proposed, causing Justin's eyebrows to shoot up in surprise. 

"Wow, an assistant! That's... definitely something I can think about. What gave you the idea?" he asked, cocking his head in interest.

Zach smiled a little. "Well, his name is Alex Standall. He's currently undergoing his senior year at UCLA and has an interest in writing for us. We both think working here with a small job, such as being an assistant, would help him get a feel of the building and what the field here has in store for him." 

Justin pursed his lips. "UCLA, huh? Smart guy. Why the NYT?" He asked, intrigued by the idea of getting a young, optimistic writer under his wing. Kinda. 

"I think he knows it's an internationally known news center and has a large fan base. He seems to like the idea of writing for the populace in an engaging atmosphere full of the brightest minds. Like yours, Foley," Zach smiled, earning a smile from Justin as well. 

"I'd like to meet the kid like you seem to've first before I make any decisions, but I'll consider setting up an interview. Figure out when he's free and maybe we can make something happen," Justin concluded, getting up to pick up lunch. 

Zach sent him a big smile in satisfaction. "Will do, man. I'll join you for lunch. How do you feel about chimichungas from the cantina across the street?" 

"You know I'll never resist a chimichunga."

***

Justin and Zach returned to work after they finished their lunch. Justin liked hanging out with Zach, even though he was one of his supervisors. It was weird knowing that Zach was technically one of his bosses, yet he was one of the chillest dudes in the whole NYT building. They'd been friends pretty much ever since Justin started working there as a janitor. But one day he decided to write a piece about a terrorist attack in Baghdad. When he saw Zach approaching down the hallway towards him, he panicked, thinking the other man would get furious that he wasn't working, and crumbled up the paper which he tried tossing in the trash. Zach called after him to no avail, since Justin sprinted down the hallway into a bathroom, successfully out of view. Zach tsked and noticed the wrinkled paper abandoned on the half-polished floor. He uncrumbled the page and his eyes progressively widened as he read each word almost in a trance. Justin's work was simply incredible, and Zach needed that kind of passion in his writing branch. Subsequently, Zach recruited Justin to work for him and they'd been close ever since.

Presently, Justin briskly walked down the hallway and furrowed his eyebrows when he noticed his office door was wide open. 

His forehead crinkled in concern and suspicion as he quickened his pace. Once his head whipped around the wall into his office, he saw a dark silhouette of a woman perched upon his desk. Jessica.

"There you are, handsome! I've been waiting for you," she murmured seductively, beckoning Justin to come closer. 

He quickly locked the door behind him and dimmed the lights. He then crossed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her waist to gently pull her lips towards his. They kissed with slow passion, her arms snaking around his neck and massaging the skin there. Justin moaned as their tongues teased together and he pressed gentle circles into her hips as they tilted their heads for better mouth access. 

Jessica broke the kiss with a quiet smack and then lathed onto his warm neck. Justin stared at the ceiling as his head lolled to the side, and worked his hands through Jessica's sexy curly hair.

"You smell like a Mexican restaurant," Jessica remarked with a goofy smile, moving to untuck Justin's dress shirt from his belted pants. 

"I had chim-michungas with Zach for lunch," Justin breathed, panting as Jess's hand roamed over his abs.

"Ah, makes sense," She replied, re-attaching their lips together in a hot kiss.

Justin's eyes screwed shut tightly as he focused on kissing Jessica with all he had. His hands cupped her ass and he squeezed, making her breathing hitch. "Why do we still have clothes on?" Justin asked in confusion, chucking as Jessica shrugged and then moved to pull his pants down, exposing his semi-hard dick. The cool air made his cock harden even more and he watched as Jessica knelt to the ground in front of him, licking her lips.

A knock on the door successfully ruined the mood and both of them sighed in frustration. 

"One moment!" Justin called, hastily pulling his dress pants up and tucking his shirt back in. "Do you have my belt?" He whispered to her. She nodded and handed it to him with a tiny frown on her face. "Hey," he murmured, looking into her deep, chocolate eyes. "We'll continue this later." She then gave him a small smile as she stood up to fix her hair. "My house for dinner?" She asked, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Count me in," he replied, giving her a wave as she opened the door to leave.

"Alright come in." He called after Jess left, taking a seat behind his desk.

Zach strolled into the room again and stood in front of Justin. "I set up an interview with Alex for 12:00 tomorrow. It'll be held in Conference Room #5," he stated, looking at Justin for confirmation. The other boy nodded. "Sounds good, man. Looking forward to it." 

Zach gave him a sharp nod and dismissed himself as quickly as he came in. 

Justin smirked once the other man left, then busied himself with writing a piece about the recent controversies surrounding global warming.

***

Justin closed up his office, slung his bag over his shoulder and took the elevator downstairs to the lobby. 

His wrist was killing him from typing all afternoon, and he could really use a hand massage. Hell he could use a whole damn body massage. Maybe from a naked Jessica. That'd relieve his stress for sure.

The doors opened and he quickly walked out, making sure to bid farewell to Monica, who was still busying herself by taking calls and helping clients, the poor soul, and to poor Franz who must have been freezing standing outside in the bitter winter air.

He turned on the ignition in his car and pulled out of the lot. He was just about to turn onto the main road before suddenly a blonde haired guy ran in front of his car. Justin's heart jumped in his chest as he slammed down on the brake, causing his body to jerk forward and backward. The boy was illuminated by the headlights of Justin's car and when the boy turned to face Justin, his bright blue eyes caught Justin a little off guard.

He watched the blonde stay frozen in place a bit, just staring at Justin, before the brunette snapped out of his weird little trance and ushered for the boy to keep walking, now irritated. The blonde shook himself out of it and gave Justin a half-assed wave as he continued through the cross walk. Justin shook his head and commenced driving to Jessica's house for the night.


	2. A First Impression

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Justin has an argument with Mr. Walker and he interviews Alex Standall for the first time

Justin woke up the next morning beside a sleeping Jessica Davis.

He smiled sleepily and squinted his eyes once the bright sun nearly blinded him. 

He used his hand as a shield to the sun and watched as Jessica shuffled in her sleep and rolled over to nearly push Justin off the bed. He gave her a fond smile while readjusting his position.

He still couldn't believe how lucky he was to have such a beautiful, kind-hearted girlfriend.

He lazily craned his neck to check the time on Jess's alarm clock sitting atop his nightstand and nearly had a panic attack at the pixilated time staring back him. 

9:07am.

He was 2 hours late!

Justin quickly kicked off the covers and scrambled out of bed, jolting Jessica awake in the process.

"Agh, Justin what the he-"

"It's 9:07! We're 2 hours late! Get the fuck up!" He shouted, grabbing a random gray dress shirt he must have left at Jessica's house a while ago and threw it on.

"I'm fucking up, thanks to you! Why the hell didn't you set an alarm-"

" _I_ didn't set an alarm?! It's  _your_ house, Jess! Why didn't you?" He yelled, frantically searching for an acceptable pair of pants.

"Well if I remember correctly,  _Foley_ we were both a little busy last night and fucking sue me for forgetting to set an alarm while you fucked me into oblivion!" She screamed, jumping out of bed and sorting through her closet for a professional-looking outfit.

That shut Justin up as he finally found a pair of red dress pants. He wrinkled his nose in disgust a little but then figured he just needed to get to work before he was fucking fired.

"Whatever just hurry up!" He yelled, pulling on his matching gray loafers. He left Jess to change in the bedroom while he waltzed into the bathroom.

He had a little stubble grazing his jaw but he didn't have enough time to shave it off. However, he  _made_ time to fix his hair with a little gel. 

Once he was satisfied with his artfully disheveled masterpiece, he left the bathroom, relieved to see Jess waiting for him in the hallway with her car keys. 

"What about my corvette?" He asked, reluctant to leave it without his supervision.

Jess scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"It's just a car, Justin. It'll be waiting for you when you get back after work." 

Justin hesitated.

"I think I'm gonna drive it to work and meet you there, okay babe?" He asked, moving to give Jess a peck on the lips, but she side stepped him, her mouth in a tight line.

"I'll see you for lunch?" He asked instead, after he grabbed his keys from the table.

"Fine," she gritted out, shouldering past him to get out the front door first.

Justin sighed. They really were not morning people.

***

Justin parked his car across the street and quickly slung his bag over his shoulder.

Mr. Franz was looking at him with a worried expression as the frazzled brunette approached the entrance in a hurry.

"Mr. Foley, what on Earth are you doing here so late?" Franz asked, knitting his eyebrows in confusion.

"Never set an alarm, Franzy and got a little.. distracted last night," he breathed with a shy smile. 

Franz's face transformed into one of sudden realization and his pale cheeks pinked. "Oh my! Well, better hurry up before Mr. Walker finds out you're so late!" He warned with a smile. 

"Thank, Franz. See ya later!" He called, swinging the doors open and hurrying into the elevator.

Mr. Walker was another one of Justin's supervisors. He had more authority over Justin than Zach did, for he was in charge of all the branches of the New York Times, but he was a strict hardass. Walker was all business and no bullshit. His high authority also gave him a cocky attitude, which was extra irritating. Pretty much everyone in the building knew the two gentlemen didn't usually get along. So if he found out Justin was super late today, boy did he have a big storm coming.

As he rose to the sixth floor, he started thinking about his schedule for the day.

He already missed more than two hours of work, so he'd have to make sure he worked twice as hard today than usual. Then he could grab a salad for lunch around 12.. 

Shit. Justin completely forgot about his interview with Alex... Stamall? Stander? He didn't remember. 

So that was another hour or so of missed work.

He leaned his head against the wall of the elevator and exhaled in a huff. He was going to be so behind in his work.

Eventually the doors opened and Justin quickly headed down the hall towards his office.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that his office door was still locked from when he left last night, meaning Mr. Walker probably didn't check up on him yet.

Justin opened his bag and searched for his keys, found them, then walked into his office. He slung his bag onto one of his plush chairs and took a seat at his desk, propping his head on his palm. 

He had just begun to massage his temple when the devil himself sauntered into his office. Justin braced himself.

"Morning, Mr. Foley," Mr. Walker began, slowly taking a seat across from Justin's desk. 

"Good morning, Mr. Walker. What brings you in?" He asked apprehensively, scanning the other man's face for any clues to his mood. He found none.

A crinkle formed between Mr. Walker's eyebrows. "I heard you're interviewing a potential employee this afternoon," he started, picking at one of his nails distractedly.

"That's right," Justin replied, wondering what onslaught of rage he was about to receive from the other man momentarily.

"Yet it has come to my attention that you didn't arrive to work on time this morning and missed, ohhh let's see... three hours of precious writing time." Mr. Walker stated, zoning in on Justin's uneasy gaze.

Well, shit. There it was.

"Two and a half hours at the most," Justin mumbled under his breath.

Wrong move.

"Excuse me?" Mr. Walker asked threateningly, slightly leaning forward in his seat.

"I didn't miss three hours, sir. I missed about two and a half," he repeated, his eyes narrowing as he stared Mr. Walker down.

The other man's gaze hardened. "What's the difference? You still missed nearly _half_ of your morning shift,  _Justin,"_ He sneered, gripping the arm rests of his chair tightly.

"Yeah, and you know why? Because I was busy screwing my girlfriend last night, unlike you. Tell me, when was the last time you've gotten a little action, Brycey boy?" Justin spat, enjoying how Bryce's jaw clenched and his knuckles turned white from gripping the chair so hard.

"You know, Mr. Dempsey promoting you to head of the writing branch was entirely against my wishes, Justin. I may not be able to fire you because Dempsey or anyone else will just he-hire you, but you'll  _always_ just be the pathetic, young janitor you were when you starte-" 

"That'll be enough, Bryce." Zach interrupted. 

Bryce whipped around to stare at Zach, his face bright red and eyes blazing.

"How can you put up with him? Whatever made you decide to hire this son of a bitch?" Bryce asked furiously, crossing his arms forcefully and tilting his head sharply.

Zach kept his cool and responded easily. "Because he has an obvious talent for writing that far surpasses anyone else working in this branch. The position had his name written all over it."

Justin kept quiet, silently praising Zach for coming to his rescue.

"Yeah? Tell that to the three hours-"

"Two and a  _half-"_

"... _three_ hours that son of a bitch missed this morning! And he's going to miss more due to an interview he set up with a rookie!"

"Actually, Mr. Walker,  _I_ set up the interview he has for this afternoon."

Mr. Walker's eyebrows shot up. "Are you serious? His work is much more imp-"

"More important than getting another talented employee with tons of promise and opportunity for the company? Who will write to make  _you_ money?" Zach countered, raising his eyebrows as he gave Mr. Walker a pointed stare.

Mr. Walker stood fuming for a moment, breathing heavily and clenching and unclenching his fists repeatedly. 

Justin looked on in suspense.

"Fine. Good day, Zach. Foley, you better write a hell of a story later this evening," Mr. Walker concluded, adjusting his tie and quickly stamping out of the room. 

The door closed behind him with a fierce slam, igniting a temporary fire of rage in Justin's core. That was  _his_ door that Mr. Walker treated so carelessly. 

Once he was gone, Zach inhaled and exhaled deeply and turned to Justin.

"Why were you so late this morning?" He asked, placing his hands on his hips like a disappointed father.

Justin shrunk back a little in his chair. "I was caught up with Jess last night and she never set an alarm for this morning," he confessed, cringing as he recounted their horrific morning. He'd buy her lunch to make up for it.

Zach shook his head. "You can't be that careless, Justin. You know that man is just  _waiting_ for an opportunity to fire you, so you have to be so careful," he warned him with sympathy, striding over to him to grip his shoulder in support.

Justin sighed. "I know. I can't help it, he just gets on my  _nerves,"_ he replied, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

Zach looked at him with a small smirk. "Tell me you didn't call him 'Brycey boy' again," he asked, though he already knew the answer judging by Justin's growing smile.

"I can't resist calling him that. It makes him positively  _murderous_ and I love it," he laughed, earning a few chuckles from Zach.

"Just don't scare off our new prospect by calling him names and making him that angry," Zach smiled.

Justin smiled in return. "Depends on whether or not he compliments me enough."

***

Justin secured his office by locking it and strode down the hall towards the conference room. He was looking forward to interviewing the kid because new people were always exciting to work with. 

It was 11:50 when he entered the room and set his notepad down. He'd just started doodling a picture of a certain Mr. Walker getting savagely beaten by cavemen when there was a tentative knock on the door.

"It's open!" Justin called, preparing himself for the other boy.

A blonde guy with a manila folder then walked in and sat across from Justin. When he looked up and their eyes met, Justin was suddenly transported back to last night in the parking lot. Was this the same guy?

"Hey! Were you the guy I almost hit last night in the crosswalk?" Justin asked for the hell of it, a little smirk playing at the corners of his lips.

The blonde boy just stared back at him for a second, almost in a trance, before he collected himself and cleared his throat. "Y-yeah, I think I was," he laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. "Thanks for not hitting me," he smiled a little, exposing his bright white teeth.

Justin smiled back at him and shook his head a little. "Well, guess I wanted you  _alive_ for the interview." 

"I'm so glad," the blonde replied, relaxing his arm on the table top.

Justin smiled a little. "Okay, so we'll start now. What's your name?" 

"Alex Standall."

Justin nodded and went to write that down. He had a good, strong name.

"And what are you studying in college, Mr. Standall?" He asked, tilting his head.

The blonde's cheeks tinted pink at the name. "I'm studying Literature and Creative Writing. I also minor in underwater basket weaving," he added seriously, earning a surprised bark of laughter from Justin.

"Alright, good to know. We're always looking for underwater weavers to join our squad here," he replied, making them both smile.

"Great, looks like I'm all set then," Alex said with a satisfied smirk.

Justin chewed on his pencil eraser. "Most likely, but let's not jump the gun yet," he stated.

Alex fake frowned. "But I love jumping guns. Makes me feel powerful since they're so small," he replied, enjoying how Justin's gaze swam with mirth.

"Fair point. But good luck finding guns in this building," he commented with a brow raised in challenge.

"Just watch," Alex replied, flexing his bicep to make Justin laugh loudly.

"Damn, guess I was wrong. But I can find some bigger ones," Justin retorted, clenching his own bicep which strained against his dress shirt.

Alex's gaze lingered on his bulging muscle for a second longer than normal, but then leaned back in his seat with a smile.

"Point taken."

Justin continued asking Alex a couple questions, but they mostly just exchanged jokes and laughed at each other happily.

He already liked Alex and his sarcastic, witty humor. He could tell how intelligent the blonde was, for being witty takes brilliance. If he could intertwine his humor into his pieces he wrote for the New York Times, who knew the success and opportunity that boy could capture? 

"Alright, Alex. This concludes our interview. Unfortunately, it's bad news," he stated solemnly. 

The blonde played along and frowned. "Tell me. Rip it off like a band-aid."

Justin looked at him seriously. "You got the job."

Alex mock gasped. "Oh no. No, it- it can't be true," he choked, covering his face in his hands.

Justin bit his lip to stop from chuckling. 

"I'm sorry, Standall. It was the only choice I had. You start tomorrow," he replied with a grin.

Alex uncovered his face and finally flashed Justin a striking smile.

"Thanks, man. You won't regret this!" He exclaimed happily, eagerly shaking Justin's hand before the two departed from the conference room and started to part ways. 

"Nah, Alex. Thank  _you."_ He replied, smiling at the blonde one last time before making to leave.

However, Alex needed to make one more comment before parting.

"Oh by the way, nice pants. Chris Brown wants them back," he teased before he turned the corner and left Justin hunched over in laughter in the middle of the hallway.

He got the job for sure and Justin couldn't wait for him to start.

***

"You wanted me?" Zach asked, stepping into Justin's office casually.

Justin looked up when he entered the room and nodded.

"Yeah, just wanted to talk to you about Alex Standall," he started, kicking his feet up on his desk.

Zach's eyebrows raised in interest. "Ah, what did you think?" He asked, sitting on the arm of his signature plush chair.

Justin smiled. "He's great. He has a great sense of humor and I think if he can incorporate that into his writing, he's going to be a roaring success," he stated, watching as Zach nodded in agreement. 

"I definitely agree with you, but let's not get ahead of ourselves, Justin. He's starting as your assistant right now, since he's still in college, so just wait. Alright?" He stated, making Justin nod, somewhat dejectedly. 

He felt kinda bad that Alex was working as his assistant instead of writing right away. But then he remembered how even just being in the environment will give the blonde a feel of what it's like working there, and he felt a little better.

"Okay. Take your lunch break, Justin it's already 1:30. I know Ms. Davis hasn't had hers yet either," Zach added, shooting Justin a knowing look before he left the office quickly. 

Justin got up and once again locked his office doors before leaving to head to Jess's office.

He felt really bad about their fight that morning, and he knew just how to make it up to her. 

On the way to her room, Justin spotted Monica approaching him from the opposite direction. "Hello, Justin!" She greeted him, smiling wide and tilting her head in a friendly, polite manner. She was clutching a pile of papers she must have printed in the break room a few minutes before he saw her.

"Hey, Moni! How's life?" He asked, stopping to talk to her. 

"Great! Didn't see you this morning, what was up with that?" She asked, her perfectly groomed eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

He scratched his arm awkwardly and said, "I woke up late. Jess never set an alarm."

She smiled and shook her head. "Oh Justin. You shouldn't hook up with your girlfriend on a work night!" She joked, playfully punching Justin's arm. They both laughed, and at that moment, of  _course,_ Jessica stepped out of her room accompanied by Courtney. When she saw Justin and Monica laughing together with her fist on his shoulder, her lips stretched into a thin line and she tried to shoulder past Justin on her way to her destination. 

However, he grabbed her shoulder, signaling Monica to leave with a flash of his eyes, and shouted, "It's not what it looks like! She's just my friend, Jess, and you and I both know she likes Zach!"

He saw Monica turn around to face Justin briefly with a panicked look on her face, but then when she realized the coast was clear, she relaxed and resumed walking away. 

He saw Jess sigh, relaxing her tensed shoulders. "I know, I know. I'm just on edge I guess," she murmured, staring at the carpeted floor.

He lifted a finger under her chin and connected their gazes. 

"Hey. I know what can help; lunch at Rantz's?" He proposed, enjoying the smile Jessica sent him in reply. 

"Of course. It's my favorite, after all," she giggled, looping an arm in Justin's when he extended it to her. 

"Then to Rantz's we shall go, my lady," he smiled, leading the two of them to the elevator and out of the building.

***

That night, Justin sat at his desk at home working on his article. He had written two posts already, but he needed one extra one to make Mr. Walker happy. The bastard.

He'd gotten halfway through his fourth paragraph when he heard his phone ting, indicating a new text message.

He scrunched his eyebrows. Who could possibly be texting him at, he checked behind his shoulder at the clock behind him, 1:45 in the morning?

**Hey, Justin. It's Alex. I just wanted to thank you for accepting me to work as your assistant. I know I was pretty sarcastic and not very serious earlier, but I really do appreciate it. So thanks again and I'll see you tomorrow! x**

Justin couldn't help but smile at the text. 

He'd forgotten they exchanged numbers during their interview. It was just so Justin was able to contact the other boy if he needed him to do anything or warn him about an upcoming event of some sort. The text was sweet though.

No problem! Make sure you bring me a tall soy latte with a little bit of sugar and a shot of espresso tomorrow morning! x

He grinned to himself, hoping the blonde would know he was messing with him.

His phone tinged seconds after he sent his message and he grinned again.

**Got it. I'll make sure to get extra whip! x**

He shook his head. He knew they were going to be great friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!


	3. The Friendship Progresses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Justin's friendship grows some more and Justin and Jessica start to run into problems

"Justin I don't think anyone actually  _loves_ yogurt. It's just a segway for fruit and shit," Alex stated pointedly, quickly muttering, "If you're into that healthy crap."

Justin stared at the other boy in shock. "I happen to  _love_ yogurt. Especially  _plain Greek yogurt,"_ he emphasized purposefully, knowing that Alex would make a face at the mention of plain Greek yogurt. 

He wasn't let down.

"You're disgusting. But I guess if you didn't have your daily dose of healthy protein-y crap you wouldn't be that buff," Alex concluded, suddenly looking embarrassed for a split second. Almost instantaneously, he replaced the slight embarrassment with a cocky smirk. He did it so fast Justin didn't know if he imagined the embarrassment in the first place or not.

Justin cleared his throat and replied with a simple, "Thanks," before he shot the blonde a small smile and turned back to his blog post about the greenhouse effect.

Alex shifted in his chair and pulled out a tiny black notepad. Justin laughed as soon as he looked up from his work and saw how Alex flipped the yellow lined page over the cardboard back and gave Justin an expectant stare.

"Can I take your order?" He asked in a mock-bored tone, pretending to chew gum obnoxiously.

Justin bit back his smile and played along. "Yes, I'll have a medium chicken Caesar salad, with croutons on the side, and a low fat dressing, and OH! The chicken must be from that brand Purdue or else I'll get the shits and you know what? Scratch the croutons all together. Got that?" He asked, leaning over his desk and crossing his arms over the mahogany wood.

Alex stared back at him. "Sorry, dude. Don't serve  _assholes,"_ he replied sarcastically, eliciting a husky laugh from Justin's core that had him throwing his head back in happiness.

Alex smiled in satisfaction and patiently watched Justin's face return to normal.

"Oh God, Standall you're a riot," he said, a humored smile plastered to Justin's face.

Alex cringed a little. "Don't say 'You're a riot.' Makes you seem like some old geyser talking to his grandson."

Justin's smile grew. "Oh, don't you worry, Sonny," he started, making sure he whistled through his teeth at the "s" sound, "I'll be ready to watch the bowling championship tonight after I get home from Bingo. Barb's having a special tonight; a coupon to the Hallmark store to whomever wins!" He mocked, enjoying how Alex's eyes widened and swirled with mirth as he laughed at Justin's horrible impersonation.

"Oh God, how old  _are_ you?" He joked, leaning back in the plush chair and watching Justin at his desk.

"68," he replied with a half smile.

Alex smiled a little in response and then his expression turned a little more serious. "Seriously though, how old are you? You seem kinda young to have this much power in your branch," he asked curiously, tucking the black notepad back into his satchel. 

Justin maintained the small smile, faintly aware of how hard it was to rub off his face, but replied, "I'm twenty-four. I started as a janitor here when I was nineteen and then Zach basically discovered my passion for writing and gave me a promotion, of sorts," he explained, eyes unfocused on the wall as he got lost in the memory.

"I'd be no where without him," he added afterwards, snapping out of his trance and returning his gaze to Alex.

The other boy was very serious all of a sudden, and even looked worried?

"You guys are close." Alex stated flatly, staring at Justin with a blank gaze.

Seeming a little slow as to why Alex was reacting that way, he quickly backpedaled and rushed, "Oh no, we're not  _together_ or anything; just friends. I'm dating Jessica Davis, who actually works here. Oh damn, I actually have to be meeting her for lunch soon," he muttered to himself, glancing at the time quickly and sighing with relief when he realized he still had time.

When his eyes landed on the blonde again, he noticed Alex's eyes were downcast and he was staring at the carpeted floor.

"You like the design? I have a thing for geometric shapes. They relax me, I dunno why. Kinda a nerd I guess," he joked, trying to liven the other boy's weirdly dull mood.

Alex's eyes snapped back up to his quickly though and he mustered a fake as fuck smile before getting up to leave.

Justin's eyebrows knit in confusion when he watched Alex fumble around for his stuff. 

"Hey, you don't have to leave yet! We still have plenty of time to discuss my interior design selections, I'm confident in my taste," Justin rushed, confused as to why he didn't want the other boy to leave.

Alex's fake smile melted into a more genuine one. "As amusing as that sounds, I need to meet someone for lunch, too. Slipped my mind completely. We'll talk later." Alex gathered the rest of his stuff and left the office without a second glance.

Justin felt oddly lonely when his company was gone and he decided there was nothing wrong with picking up Jess early.

He grabbed his wallet from his desk drawer and snatched his keys to lock the door behind him. 

He strolled down the hallway and whistled quietly to himself, following the same route he took every day.

He nodded and smiled to the familiar faces he passed until he finally got to Jessica's room.

He knocked twice and then entered after the door creaked open.

"Justin!" Jessica called merrily, speed walking over to him. 

"Hey, gorgeous," Justin greeted with a smile as her arms wrapped around his neck. She leaned in for a peck and then the two hugged briefly. 

"I'm happy you're here early! How about you stick around for a bit until I...  _finish my work,"_ she murmured seductively, curling a clump of Justin's hair around her finger. Justin gulped and felt his pulse pick up at the promise. 

"I see no problem with that. We would't want you to fall behind," he whispered back, moving to kiss and suck at her neck. She elicited small breathy noises and tilted her head to let him work. "Mmm, so good at that Just," she breathed as he nipped a bite into her skin.

"You haven't seen  _nothing,"_ he drawled, reveling in the small gasp she made in response.

Justin then detached his mouth from her neck and instead sealed their lips together, loving how hers parted immediately.

After a few seconds Jess broke away from him and ran to lock her office door. She smiled darkly and then pulled her tight top over her head in one swift motion. Her hair that was set in a professional looking bun was hastily pulled out and her hair cascaded down her back and over her chest. 

Justin's eyes dilated and he immediately pulled his shirt off too. When he finished, he forcefully met Jessica's lips in a kiss that was fifty times hotter and filthier than before.

Both of their mouths were open, with their tongues furiously tangling together, hands raking over each other's bodies.

Jessica pulled back a little to suck on Justin's lips, earning a moan in pleasure from him. He felt his pants tighten slightly and he moved to palm himself quickly.

The sound of Justin's loud rumbling stomach interrupted them and Jessica giggled. "We'll continue this later, okay?" She asked with a grin, side stepping him to sling her purse over her shoulder. She then grabbed her shirt and tossed Justin his.

Justin smiled in thanks and nodded. "Tony's good?" 

"Definitely."

***

Justin headed back to his office after lunch and went back to work.

He received an email from Zach that he needed to make a brochure to appeal to new potential prospects that wanted to work at the NYT. 

It was a slight annoyance, since Justin still had a couple projects and blog posts to finish before he could think about anything else, and he was getting stressed out and anxious.

It was when Justin was trying to balance a pencil on his upper lip to relieve some of his anxiety when there was a solid rap on his door.

"Come in!" He called, flinging the pencil somewhere across his desk.

In walked Alex with two coffees and Justin thought he actually might cry from happiness.

"You're a fucking life saver, Alex." He gushed, abruptly getting up from his seat and striding towards the blonde.

"No problem, just thought you could use the extra energy; you've been crazy busy lately," Alex replied, handing the brunette the styrofoam cup.

Justin smiled in gratitude and sat down in one of his plush chairs, beckoning Alex to take the other one beside him.

Alex did, and tentatively took a sip of his coffee, grimacing at the flavor and scalding temperature. Justin noticed and smirked.

"Not a big coffee drinker?" He asked, smiling when Alex straightened in his seat and took another sip. 

"Of course I'm a coffee drinker! This is black coffee, you know, the kind big boys order at a cafe instead of your cream and sugar shit," Alex teased, enjoying the laugh Justin coughed out as a result.

"I happen to drink black all the time; just wasn't in the mood for that flavor," Justin retorted, realizing how that sounded when Alex choked on his sip and widened his eyes.

"Woah, that's what he said! Too much info, bro," Alex rushed, both boys now in fits of giggles.

"You know what they say; once you go black, you never go back!" Justin laughed, making Alex's laughter intensify.

"Oh God, Justin that's too damn much," the blonde said, wiping the tears from his eyes.

Justin laughed until the sound grew too soft to hear. "But seriously, thanks for the coffee," he said, crossing his legs.

"No problem; it was really just an excuse to get one for myself too and prove my manliness by ordering it dark," Alex confessed, smirking when Justin smiled again.

"Yeah you're  _so_ manly. Like, manlier than me," Justin joked, enjoying how Alex smirked with pride.

"At least you can admit it to yourself," Alex replied, laughing when Justin reached over to punch him playfully.

"Dick."

"Pussy."

Both boys pretended not to notice how Justin's fist rested against Alex's shoulder a tad longer than normal. Alex's giggling halted rather abruptly after the contact and Justin's expression grew serious for a few seconds, before morphing into one of contentment. 

Finally Justin snapped out of it and retracted his hand from the other boy's shoulder and returned back into his seat.

Both boys were quiet for a moment, just sipping on their coffees that had cooled by now and checked their phones for any notifications.

Alex then cleared his throat and stood up, wiping invisible crumbs off his pants.

"I'll see you later; it's off to work you and I go," Alex concluded, smiling a little when Justin knit his eyebrows together and nodded.

"Where do you even go when I have to work? Aren't you my assistant?" Justin inquired, curiosity getting the best of him.

Alex scoffed. "I have other assistanty stuff to do like getting an early dinner with a pal from the building," Alex responded, eyeing Justin's face carefully.

Justin's eyes widened. "With who?" He asked, sitting bolt upright in his chair.

"Uh, no one," Alex replied shakily, a pink color blooming on his cheeks.

"Uh, yes some one! Who is it? Do I know them?" Justin interrogated, suddenly super interested in Alex's personal life.

Alex refused to meet the brunette's gaze. "Gotta go, I'm already late," he rushed, nearly dropping his coffee as he scurried out of the office.

Justin was left there utterly confused, and for some reason a little hurt.

He didn't know why Alex didn't trust him enough to tell him who he was seeing, but then again, it wasn't really his business was it? Ugh.

He continued sipping his coffee, even though there was a tad too much sugar for his liking.

After a few minutes of sitting there in a cloud of confusion and curiosity, he eventually went back to his work.

What better way to clear his mind than working on a blog about the dangers of global warming?

Well there was also...

***

Jessica pushed him into the mattress roughly and suckled on his neck.

Justin's eyes closed in pleasure as she went to town on his skin, sucking mark after mark into his burning flesh.

He moaned a little as she nipped on his tender skin, then smoothed it with her tongue.

"Yeah, Jess," he gasped, fisting his hands into her mane of unruly curls, earning him a moan from her in response.

"Taste so good, Justy," she moaned, attaching her lips to his in a hot kiss.

As their lips moved together and she pushed her tongue into his mouth, Justin's mind flashed to Alex briefly. 

Startled, Justin ripped his lips from hers as he backed away swiftly. 

"Justin what the fuck?!" Jess yelled, suddenly straddling the mattress instead of his body, now pressed against the headboard of their bed.

"I do-I don't-I can't-Jesus," Justin stammered, palms coming up to caress the back of his skull in exasperation. 

"What just happened? Did I do something wrong?" She asked, hurt pooling in her brown eyes.

"I don't fucking know!" He yelped, unable to comprehend what happened as well.

His breathing quickened and he felt like he was going to have a panic attack.

"Justin, Justin calm down," Jessica pleaded, moving forward slowly to grasp his wrist.

His wild eyes set on her intensely, and for a moment she thought he was about to combust.

"Hey, listen to me, you're okay, you're okay," she chanted, pulling the brunette in for a tight hug.

He was already having trouble getting his breath back, and the tight squeeze wasn't helping.

What the fuck was wrong with him? He assumed it was just from the stress of the day, and knowing Alex didn't trust him with his personal life was hurting him. 

Yeah, that was it.

Once his breathing was back under his control and the rising panic in his chest had subsided, he backed out of his girlfriend's embrace and instead leaned in for a chaste peck.

"Justin what happened, please talk to me," she whispered, concern written all over her face.

Justin took a deep breath and nodded.

"It was nothing, Jess. I just thought about all the work I still have to do at work and panicked," he faked, trying desperately to find an excuse that wasn't the insane truth.

She didn't believe him, but thankfully let it slide.

"Well. Alright, so do you wanna continue this, orrrrr," she purred, moving into his space again to initiate a kiss, but he turned his head to the side.

"Not tonight, I'm sorry," he apologized, hating the betrayed expression on her face.

"O-okay, fine," she spat, rolling over onto her side, opposite him.

"Jess-" he started, but then stopped.

It was no use; he didn't know what to do, what to say, what to think.

So eventually he rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling for a while until sleep finally caught up to him and he drifted off into slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to update, but hopefully the wait was worth it! Let me know what you think about the chapter in the comments below :) Love you guys and I apologize for any mistakes!


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